on a mission from
Goddess

I'll admit I'm not all that well-versed on the topic of climate change.  I just remember this summer when Seattle was sweltering and we in New York had nothing but rain.  I look at the recent earth quakes, tsunamis, hurricane tornadoes and the like, events that make it into the news with greater regularity than they have seemed to ever before, and I wonder if our Mother Earth isn't in some sort of healing crisis.  As more and more folks come into awareness and raise her vibration, the more muck and detritus comes to the surface to be healed.


That doesn't mean I believe that the entirety of climate change can be attributed to the misbehavior of humans.  There is something to be said for the cyclical nature of climate and temperature spanning the aeons.  However, we humans make a mistake in thinking that Mother Earth is in danger during this time.  What is in danger is our ability to live on her.  If we don't get our acts together she'll shrug us off the same way she has countless other species.

According to the IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change the earth's surface has warmed 0.74° C during the twentieth century. In addition:

between 1970 and 2004, greenhouse gas emissions increased by 70 per cent, and carbon dioxide (CO2) – by far the largest source with 77 per cent of total emissions – grew by about 80 per cent. Atmospheric concentrations of CO2, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20), the IPCC found, had risen markedly since 1750 due to human activity, and today, far exceed pre-industrial values.

From the UN's climate change site we get:

Examples of climate change impacts

• By 2020, some 75 to 250 million people in Africa will face increased water shortages. Yields from rain-fed agriculture (dominant method) could fall by up to 50 per cent in some African countries.
• About 20-30 per cent of plant and animal species will likely face increased risk of extinction if global average temperature increases exceed 1.5°-2.5° C.
• Widespread melting of glaciers and snow cover will create risk of flash floods and, over time, reduce annual melt water from major mountain ranges (i.e.: Hindu-Kush, Himalaya, Andes), where more than one billion people live.
• Seven of ten disasters are now climate-related.
• More than 20 million people were displaced by sudden climate-related disasters in 2008 alone. An estimated 200 million could be displaced as a result of climate impacts by 2050.

I don't know about you, but this doesn't sound like the type of world I want to live in.  So what's the answer for us everyday folk?  Live like you want to stick around on the planet for a while.  Change your light bulbs: plant some trees, give up your hairspray (the 1980s are over anyway); turn off your computer and other electronics when you're not using them; get a refillable water bottle; go for a walk every once in a while instead of using your car.  Remember the old standby: reduce, reuse, reccycle.  Most of all, make greening up your life a priority, not merely something to think about the next time you hear some dire news report.